Pressure? What pressure? Kal Naismith’s first half header and a solid display against Doncaster saw Luton return to winning ways and turn the heat down after a week of discontent.
Boss Matt Bloomfield had been the subject of sack speculation from some supporters, which saw chief executive Gary Sweet come out to publicly back his manager.
Both promised a performance that reflected both them and the club after two defeats in a row, with the last at Lincoln branded “unacceptable” by the man in the dugout. Town delivered in terms of the basics, the fight, the application, even some promising signs in attack, although the discovery of their killer instinct is still pending.
“It was a really important day for us to get three points,” Bloomfield said, adding: “It’s been a challenging week, as we spoke about yesterday at length. And for the boys to show that fight, spirit, togetherness, to come through with a victory was very important.”
Though Doncaster arrived at Kenilworth Road sitting second in the division, it was Town that looked the higher placed side, certainly in a dominant first half. And they should have had more to show for their efforts as Nahki Wells saw a penalty saved, but this was perhaps more a story of the Hatters’ defence.
After six painful goals conceded in two games, they returned as clean sheet claimants, bagging their fifth of the League One campaign with a dogged rearguard that rarely looked like being pierced.
And, crucially, they lined up as a traditional foursome, ditching the much-maligned three at the back. It will be hard for the Hatters to return to that disliked formation now as Christ Makosso – in an unfamiliar right back berth – Mads Andersen, Teden Mengi and Naismith performed admirably.
To emphasise the point, Rovers did not manage a shot on target in the first half. And on the rare occasion that they did get in behind in the second period, Toyosi Olusanya and Luke Molyneux fluffed their lines. The threat was always minimal and it’s a credit to a refocused and changed Town team.
Bloomfield said of the formation switch: “There was some really good elements to it, loads that we need to work on because we’ve only had this week to work on it.
“I thought that back four as a unit was very, very good. The wingers in the first half, especially showed real attacking instinct. Probably not so much second half. Shayden [Morris] and run out a juice a little bit and Milli,[Alli] but especially first half, we had a really good attacking instinct about us, really good intensity about us and there was lots of pleasing moments.”
And while Luton did not score from open play again, there was far more in the way of willing runners and players trying to play positive passes.
Two men that made the most of their starts were Lamine Fanne and Morris. They were two of three changes from the doom saga at Sincil Bank, along with Makosso, fresh off the naughty step after being dropped last week for being late to a meeting.
But, though they didn’t finish the game, it was the former two that shone. Fanne drove through the middle and broke up play, even picking up good positions in the box, with an early volley saved by Ian Lawlor.
Morris, on his first start for Luton, was an electrifying presence, with an almost singular determination to beat his man and get to the byline.
And when the pair departed, striker Joe Gbodé came on with 25 minutes remaining and was excellent in leading the front line with his determined hold-up play, helping to ease the pressure as the game got stretched towards at the finale, though still not enough for Town to be in any danger.
So Luton returned to winning ways via a clean sheet, which is how they’d won all four of their other games this term.
And as a work in progress, with changes in formation and personnel, it was a world away from the despair of a week ago in Lincolnshire, and a ray of light, with a possible new way forward, at the end of a dark week.
